COOPER,
BELTON YOUNGBLOOD, age 89, of Birmingham, died May 26, 2007.
He was born in Huntsville, Alabama on October 4, 1917, son of
the late Jimmie Lou Youngblood Cooper and George Price Cooper,
Jr. Mr. Cooper grew up in Huntsville and attended the Virginia
Military Institute and the University of Michigan. During World
War II, he served as an Ordnance Liaison Officer with the 3rd
Armored Division, and was awarded 5 Campaign battle stars, a
Distinguished Unit Citation, the Belgian Fourragere and the Bronze
Star Medal. His experiences in the European theater were the
subject of his 1998 book "Death Traps: The Survival of an
American Armored Division in World War II". After the war,
he completed his studies at the University of Michigan with a
degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. He moved
to Birmingham to work for Ingalls Shipbuilding Company. He also
worked for U.S. Pipe & Foundry Company for over 20 years,
and for 33 years was President of the Herman Williams Company,
Inc. Throughout his career, Mr. Cooper was active in the civic
life of his community. As Chairman of the Education Committee
of the Alabama Society Professional Engineers, he assisted in
the establishment of the 4-year engineering college at UAB. He
used his involvement with the National Society of Professional
Engineers to play an influential role in the creation of the
civilian space agency NASA. He was actively involved in the Redstone
Club and the Birmingham Chapter of the Veterans of the Battle
of the Bulge. He was a member of St. Mary's-on-the-Highlands
Episcopal Church, where he taught Sunday school for 42 years.
Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Rebecca Bowers Cooper;
his sons Belton Cooper Jr. and his wife Debra; Lloyd Cooper and
his wife Jane; Spencer Cooper and his wife Heather; and his grandsons,
Maxwell and Graham, all of Birmingham. His brother Lawrence Cooper
of Birmingham also survives him. Services will be held on Saturday,
June 2, 2007 at 11:00AM at St. Mary's-on-the-Highlands Episcopal
Church. The family will receive friends prior to the service
at the church at 10:00AM. Graveside service to follow at Elmwood
Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests
any memorial gifts be made to the Belton Y. Cooper Endowed Lecture
Series in the Department of History at the University of Alabama
at Birmingham, UAB Development Office, HB 302, 1530 3rd Avenue
South, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-1260. Services are under the
direction of Ridout's Valley Chapel (205.879.3401) in Homewood.